HRPD 405 Strategic Compensation – Singh
Team Project- Formulating the Compensation Strategy
Value- 30%
Due Date: Week of July 23, 2012
Purpose: 1) To apply the Compensation knowledge in real-world situation.
The Task: Formulating a Compensation Strategy for an organization. Working in a group of 4 people, use the simulation case distributed in class. Formulate the compensation strategy for Zenith Medical System Incorporation, and submit a report for grading.
Breakdown of the Task:
A. Identify the existing problems at Zenith Medical System and analyze the underlying organizational factors that are causing those problems.
B. Recommend a set of solutions to those problems;
C. Develop a coherent compensation strategy for Zenith Medical System;
D. Develop and apply a Job Evaluation Plan for Zenith Medical System, and
E. Develop a Pay-for-Knowledge Plan for the company.
Report Headings:
When preparing your project report, of which the minimum length is 20 pager (1.5 spaced). Please use the following five main headings;
Section A: Identification of Current Organizational Problems and Analysis on their root causes. In this section, you should identify the current problems that Zenith Medical System is facing (try to look at the problems in operation, product and service quality, productivity, cost, employee morale and behaviour, relationship between departments, and customer satisfaction, etc.), and analyze the reward and compensation related factors that are causing those problems. The strategic framework in Chapter 2 and the behavioural framework in Chapter 3 are both essential in so doing.
Section B: Recommendations for Solving the Problems. Provide the proposed solutions that flow from your analysis in the previous section. Be specific in explaining what you would do. Justify your recommendations and implement your recommendations in the following sections. Your recommendations must be compensation related and should be reflected in Section C - E. For example, if you think a different managerial strategy is required, exactly what would you do to implement it? Also if you recommend a pay-for-knowledge plan for a job family, then you should create that pay plan in Section E.
Section C: Compensation Strategy. In this section, develop your compensation strategy for each job family by following the five steps in Figure 6.1 (page 208 of the text). That is to say, you need to define the types of behaviour that Zenith and its job families need, define the role that compensation will play in generating those behaviours, determine the compensation mix, and determine the compensation level. The outcomes of all this should be summarized for each job family in a compensation strategy template as illustrated in Figure 6.2 (Page 244 of the text).
To successfully complete this section, you will need to utilize the concepts contained in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the text, together with the lecture notes.
*** Hint: Before you can do any of the above, you must have decided which jobs will be included under the pay for knowledge system, and which under the job evaluation system. Material in Chapter 4 will be useful in making this decision. (For jobs under the pay-for-knowledge system, you can list all of them on one strategic template. In fact, all jobs that have the same compensation mix and compensation level policy can be included on the same sheet.) This section should include the behavioural objectives you are setting for the compensation system (For example, see Table 6.5 - page 251).
Section D: Job Evaluation Plan. In this section you should describe and explain your job evaluation plan, which should be constructed using the "Point Method" (see Chapter 8, especially the Lecture notes for Chapter 8). You need to describe and explain the compensable factors you have selected, the factor scales you are using, and the factor weights you are applying, along with your rationale for all this. (Watch out for the pitfalls described on pages 311-319 of Chapter 8.) In completing your job evaluation plan, you should have provided a set of well-designed job evaluation scales. You also need to apply your job evaluation system to the jobs selected to be evaluated, so that there is a point total for each job. Use a table to display the results of this.
Section E: Pay-for-Knowledge Plan. This section should describe and explain your pay-for-knowledge plan, including the skill blocks you have chosen, in the form of a skill grid similar to that in Table 4.1 (page 137 of the text). You need to follow the five steps described on pages 131-143 of Chapter 4.
Important Notes: It is critical for you to have good understanding of the contents of Chapters 4-10 to complete Section C- E. Try to follow the course contents and lecture notes of those chapters.
Your report should also include:
Conclusion: In this section you should draw a conclusion on the significance of this project and the learning outcomes for your group
Works Cited List: (not contributing to page count). Follow the MLA/APA Format for providing at least five references (including journals, the Internet, books, lecture materials, etc.).
Appendices: (not contributing to page count) Materials used in collection and presentation (e.g. internet printout, overheads, PowerPoint descriptions etc.) should be appended to your submitted report.
Evaluation:
This assignment is worth 30% of the total course grade. The marks are of team-based reward. Each member of the group will be given the same marks on the condition that each member’s contribution can be identified in the final results.
Grading Criteria
1. Evidence of substantial effort through the project, not a hastily put together paper.
2. Evidence of group cooperation.
3. Evidence of careful writing of a well integrated paper, not just several parts put together (This will be reflected in Paper Integration in grading).
4. Arguments are well justified.
Grading breakdown (Make sure the following required elements are included in your submitted report, any missing element will result in mark deduction):
Section A: 15
Section B: 10
Section C: 20
Section D: 20
Section E. 10
Organization of 10
Report/Format/Quality & Clarity/Integration/
Presentation
3